The Boston Red Sox had been considered favorites to sign free agent outfielder Nick Swisher as late as last week, but with their recent deal with Shane Victorino, Boston is no longer in the hunt for the former Yankee.
Swisher has eight consecutive seasons of 20 home runs or more. Image: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports
Swisher made headlines late in the regular season when it was reported that he would be seeking “Jayson Werth money” on the open market. It’s highly unlikely his price will get anywhere near those figures, especially with the Yankees and Red Sox out of the running, but Swisher could still land a nice pay day.
According to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, Swisher spoke directly with managers from two different clubs on Tuesday and his agent, Dan Lozano, met with as many as four different teams. Buster Olney added that Swisher’s representatives met with the Baltimore Orioles, but it’s unclear whether or not the O’s were one of the four clubs Brown referenced.
AL source: Orioles met today with the representatives for Nick Swisher.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 5, 2012
Swisher has drawn some level of interest from the Giants and could be of interest to teams like Philadelphia and Cleveland. The Seattle Mariners are considered by some to be the front runners for his services, as they appear to have the biggest need and willingness to spend money. I could also see Swisher making sense in Milwaukee or Cincinnati, but with either of those two teams, the market would almost have to fall apart and Swisher would need to be open to a shorter term deal.
Once the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes are settled, Swisher becomes the next biggest fish on the corner outfield market. He’ll make a nice consolation prize for some club, and he’ll likely still get a fairly sizable deal, probably in the four year range.